New job for Prince William! Duke of Cambridge to be air ambulance helicopter pilot

By PTI |Posted 07-Aug-2014

Britain's Prince William, a former chopper pilot in the Royal Air Force, is set to become an air ambulance pilot from early next year

London: Britain's Prince William is set to become an air ambulance pilot again from early next year, it was announced today.

The 32-year-old Prince will join the East Anglian Air Ambulance flying both day and night shifts. It will become his main job who is second in line to the throne, but his rota will take into account any duties he will continue to undertake on behalf of the Queen, Kensington Palace said.

Prince William

A spokesperson for the Duke of Cambridge, said he was "hugely excited and motivated" by the role.

He said: "The duke sees this as a true form of public service, helping people in their most difficult times.

"He regards his work with the RAF search and rescue force as having been an exceptional privilege and the duke wanted to make his own contribution to the outstanding work of the air ambulance service".

The Air Ambulance charity's chief executive, Patrick Peal, told BBC: "We're delighted His Highness has decided to fly with us. "We are confident this will help raise the profile of the charity and other air ambulance charities in the region and across the UK".

The charity said the duke would be based at Cambridge Airport and fly missions in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Bedfordshire.

He will be paid a salary which he will donate in full to the charity, Kensington Palace said.

There had been speculation surrounding the move since Prince William, who is qualified to be a captain or pilot of a Sea King helicopter, ended his active service as an RAF search and rescue pilot last September.

During his service he carried out more than 150 missions and completed more than 1,300 flying hours.

His main duties will involve flying an EC145 T2 aircraft and working alongside medics to respond to emergencies ranging from road accidents to heart attacks.

In order to gain this licence, the prince must complete five months of training followed by 14 exams and a flight test.

Initially he will be employed as a co-pilot but, after a period of training he will be qualified as a helicopter commander.